What in the World - How South Korea keeps most of its food waste out of landfills

Download How South Korea keeps most of its food waste out of landfills

Globally more than a billion tonnes of food is wasted each year and much of it ends up in landfills. As the food breaks down it releases huge amounts of methane, making up 10% of the world’s climate-warming emissions. Now many cities and governments are looking to South Korea as a model of how to reduce food waste and boost food recycling.

BBC reporter Soo Min Kim explains how South Korea cut household food waste going to landfill from 97% to almost nothing. Among other things, they’ve nudged the public to think about their food waste by making it mandatory to separate food waste and to pay for throwing it away. The country also has special RFID bins to handle disposal and payments, and there are financial penalties for people who don’t comply.

We also hear from content creators around the world about how they reduce their food waste. They are: Senjuti Chakraborty in India, Debbi Love in the UK, and Chatty Miss Maddie and Lani Marschall in Australia. Plus BBC reporter William Lee Adams shares some of the surprising food saving hacks he came across on social media.

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Presenter: Iqra Farooq
Producer: William Lee Adams
Editor: Verity Wilde

Published on Wednesday, 23rd September 2026.

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